In a conversation, stress is often used by English speakers to differentiate between old (or known) information, and information that is new to the listener(s). Look at the following example, in which both speakers use stress to emphasize new information.
Waleed: I can’t believe my phone was stolen.
Amy: Your new phone?
Waleed: Yeah, the five-hundred-dollar one. Some guy grabbed it off my table at Starbucks.
Amy: Oh gosh, I’m sorry. That phone was really nice. It had a leather case, right?
Waleed: Yeah, and no insurance.
Both Amy and Waleed stress the new information that they introduce to the conversation. Keep in mind that the “new” information is not necessarily always something that the listener did not know before, but may be something new to the context of the specific dialogue. Relying on stress to keep track of new information in English can help you (1) improve your listening comprehension and (2) improve your intelligibility.
Many languages make a distinction between old and new information. Some do it with sentence structure, grammatical markers, stress (like English) or some combination of ways. Think about your own native language: how does it distinguish between old and new information?
Practice
Look at the dialogues below, and decide which syllables/words are new information in each speaker’s turn. Then, check to see if your predictions were correct.
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Ming: Did you bring your notes?
Sena: My accounting notes? Yeah, here you go. Sorry, my handwriting is awful.
Ming: Thanks so much. I’ll give them back to you by Tuesday.
Sena: Sure, by Tuesday morning, if you can.Click for the answerMing: Did you bring your notes?
Sena: My accounting notes? Yeah, here you go.
Ming: Thanks so much. I’ll give them back to you by Tuesday.
Sena: Sure, by Tuesday morning, if you can. -
Paris: I got the job!
Hector: Which job?
Paris: The one with Goldman Sachs. Looks like I’ll be moving to Manhattan.
Hector: Nice! Where in Manhattan?
Paris: The East Side. Lower East Side, on Houston Street.Click for the answerParis: I got the job!
Hector: Which job?
Paris: The one with Goldman Sachs. Looks like I’ll be moving to Manhattan.
Hector: Nice! Where in Manhattan?
Paris: The East Side. Lower East Side, on Houston Street.
What do you do now?
First, listen to this stress-related phenomenon in conversations around you, in daily life and in media like TV and movies. Be aware of it in your English conversations; in fact, try writing short dialogues that you might encounter in an interview, for example.
Second, come see a speech consultant to get more practice!